ATLRetro

By Jordan Barbeau
Contributing Blogger

Monday, November 7

Grammy award-winning alternative rock band Foo Fighters headlines a show at the Gwinnett Arena. This veritable rockfest also features the talents of punk rock band Social Distortion and The Joy Formidable. Folk/pop band Fletcher C. Johnson plays the 529, along with Southern rockers Turf War and garage/punk/black metal band The Husseins. From 3 PM on, savor tropical sounds and libations, as well as a Polynesian dinner during Mai Tai Monday at Smith’s Olde Bar. Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam. To break up the Monday monotony, head over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for dinner and a show, as local blues/jazz band Dry White Toast performs at 8 PM. For a classy, laid-back evening, head over to Café 290 around 8:30 PM for their Big Band Night, featuring the jazz talents of Joe Gransden and his 16-piece band and special guest Maria Howell.

Tuesday, November 8

Splatter Cinema presents a rare 35 mm screening of Lance Henriksen cult classic PUMPKINHEAD(1988) at the Plaza Theatre, preceded by an “unbelievably realistic” recreation of a scene from the film and a collection of classic horror movie trailers. Read our Retro Review by Tom Drake here. Reveling in several different genres, Joy Kills Sorrow, an all-strings band from Boston, plays at Eddie’s Attic, along with folk-rock band The Lumineers. Grab your horn and head to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 p.m. Crosstown All Stars play Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Catch Tues. Retro in the Metro nights at Midtown’s Deadwood Saloon, featuring video mixes of ’80s, ’90s and 2Ks hits.

Wednesday, November 9

The Scott Glazer Jazz Group, with special guest Joe Gransden, swings their way into Blind Willie’s for a bluesy night. Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at Graveyard Tavern. The Hollidays make it a soulful night at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck blues it down at Northside Tavern. Dance to ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s hits during Retro in the Metro Wednesdays presented by Godiva Vodka, at Pub 71 in Brookhaven.

The Stumblers.

Thursday, November 10

The Stumblers serve up rockabilly goodness with a free show at Twain’s. Tongo Hiti play Retro-Polynesian luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as trippy takes on iconic pop songs, every Thursday night at Trader Vic’s. The Breeze Kings and The Chickenshack bring on the blues respectively at Northside Tavern and Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.  Grassville plays Bluegrass Thursday at Red Light Cafe.

Friday, November 11

Atlanta’s premiere horror and psychotronic film festival, the two-day Buried Alive Film Fest kicks off today at the Plaza Theatre. Tonight’s movies include a variety of horrific short films such as the obligatory zombie film this time with a French perspective, CABINE OF THE DEAD, the acclaimed indie feature film I DIDN’T COME HERE TO DIE and more. Be sure to check out our exclusive preview here.

Celebrate DJ Romeo Cologne’s Birthday Boogaloo by coming out to The Star Bar in Little Five Points. This party is sure to be the funkiest happening of the night! As for the sexiest, that’s got to be the Southern Fried Fundraiser Spectacular at Bart Webb Studios featuring Indigo Blue, Siren Santina, Fonda Lingue, Ruby Redmayne, Blast-Off Burlesque‘s Sadie Hawkins, Talloolah Love, Lola LeSoleil, the lovely Syrens of the South and other regional burlesque stars. Tickets are just $10 and all proceeds support next year’s second annual Southern Fried Burlesque Fest (March 8-11, 2012). For the lowdown from Miss Indigo Blue herself, our Kool Kat of the Week, click here.

Rebecca DeShon’s Hoop Essence are among the participants spinning in the Atlanta World Hoop Day Hoop Jam), and you should too! This event helps bring exercise and fun to impoverished children in the form of hula hooping, and we guarantee you’ll be having just as much fun as the kids are. The Nick Longo Band brings their energetic and diverse style to Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX, where drinks and food compliment documentaries on Atlanta’s largest IMAX movie screen. Little Joey’s Big Band plays tonight at Fat Matt’s.

Saturday, November 12

The Buried Alive Film Fest continues all day at the Plaza Theatre. Shows today include Nutman’s Nightmares, a short series at 2 pm hand-picked by ATLRetro contributing blogger and Fangoria writer Philip Nutman; Georgia Fever Dreams, a quartet of local shorts at 4 p.m. including an adaptation of Stephen King’s SURVIVOR TYPE; and two features the hilarious horror black comedy THE SELLING at 6:30 p.m. and “ultimate midnight movie” CHILLERAMA at 9 p.m., a mash-up of four different gleefully cheesy horror movies.

The Artifice Club presents the 2nd annual Mechanical Masquerade: A Paranormal Fantasy at Blue Mark Studios, a renovated 110-year-old church. The night plays out like a story, with mythical creatures parading around a supernatural-themed masquerade ball. The fantastical festivities include a bazaar, libations, costume contest and performances by an eclectic ensemble of talent including steampunk funk by Montague Jacque Fromage, the Mezmer Society, Doc Volz and his Steampunk Trunk, The Ghosts Project, Vauxhall Garden Variety Players and the Fantasia de Mode Fashion Show presented by The Steampunk Chronicle. Also attending the ball is special guest S. J. Chambers, co-author with Jeff VanderMeer of THE STEAMPUNK BIBLE. Be sure to read our Really Retro preview with Chambers here. 

In honor of Veterans Day, the bimonthly Mon Cherie’s Rockabilly Lounge supports our troops with the Pinups for Soldiers Burlesque Show with a special appearance by Nashville’s Violet Vixen. This special evening is dedicated to Chameleon Queen’s Dad and the squadron he served during the Vietnam Crisis (we still call it war) Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362, better known as: “Ugly Angels.” Funds raised from the sales of pinup calendars and donations go to sending care packages to the troops overseas, so come out and have fun for a good cause! Also performing is Sonoramic Commando, named for the ’61 Plymouth engine, and as usual, Rev. Andy spins Psychobilly Freakout and swing dance. Read Spookie Susie’s preview of the event here.

Smith’s Olde Bar showcases the talents of the Haley & Alexis Band, Flat Cat and Cherry Bomb.  Washington, D.C. ska/sould band The Pietasters headline a show with the All Night Drug Prowling Wolves and the Antagonizers at the Star Community Bar. Denim Arcade brings the 80s back to @tmosphere! Click here for our Kool Kat feature on leading lady Becky Cormier Finch, also of Ren-rock band Three Quarter Ale. The Fox Theater features Australian Pink Floyd, a tribute honoring the famous rock band. The Chris Robinson Brotherhood plays at Center Stage. Eddie’s Attic goes ’70s with the funky stylings of The Susi French Connection. For a bluesy/jazzy evening, head over to Fat Matt’s to check out the Swamp Funk Trio and Tony Bryant. And as usual, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours.

Sunday, November 13

Center Stage provides a musical look back at the legacy of one of the most influential rock bands of all time in the form of Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience. Stephen Simmons serves up blues “dunch” between 1-4 PM at The Earl. Fatback Deluxe brings on the blues at Fat Matt’s. The Raconteurs send off the weekend with a bang with a performance at the Tabernacle.

Ongoing

The Center for Puppetry Arts’ official stage adaptation of the Rankin-Bass misfit Christmas TV classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is back for a second year with Rudolph, Clarisse, Hermie. Yukon and all the beloved characters. Watch for an interview with adapter/director and Center Artistic Director Jon Ludwig soon. Through Dec. 31.

Fabrefaction Theatre Company brings Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s chilling, suspenseful, heart-pounding masterpiece of murderous barber-ism and culinary crime to the stage. A tale of retribution and in essence, obsession, SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET serves up a delicious portion of gruesome humor, sinister spite and suspicious meat pies. Through Nov. 13.

The Supremes at the Apollo Theater. Photo courtesy of The Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc. Photo by Kwame Brathwaite.

Explore one of America’s most iconic theaters in AIN’T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING: HOW THE APOLLO THEATER SHAPED AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT, a special exhibition at the Atlanta History Center . Presented by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, in collaboration with the Apollo Theater Foundation, the display includes historic and contemporary costumes, playbills, music scores, graphic images and recorded music. Through March 4, 2012

LIFE AND DEATH IN THE PYRAMID AGE: THE EMORY OLD KINGDOM MUMMY features the first public viewing in 50 years of the oldest Egyptian mummy in the Western Hemisphere, acquired from excavations at Abydos by Emory Theology Professor William A. Shelton in 1920. Watch for a Really Retro piece on this fascinating exhibit at Emory’s Michael C. Carlos Museum soon. Through Dec. 11, 2011.

If you know of a cool happening coming up soon, send suggestions to ATLRetro@gmail.com.